Solveig Sørbø had the world premiere of her new opera at the Classix Festival in Romania last week. The performance is based on the best-selling novel Heroin Chic.
/ 07/03/2025 / Kristian DugstadWhen Solveig Sørbø read the novel Heroine Chic, she saw a story with strong potential.
– The book is both modern and timeless, with a drama that is well suited to the opera format, she says.
Five years after the book was published, the composer has realized his vision, launching his new opera based on the story of Elise. The world premiere took place at the Classix festival in Romania last week.
– The response is overwhelming!
Da Heroine Chic was published in 2020, author Maria Kjos Fonn received rave reviews.
The novel is about Elise, a young woman from a seemingly safe home in Oslo, who, without obvious explanation, indulges in heavy drinking.
For Sørbø, this seemingly inexplicable death drive was precisely what inspired him.
– On the road to destruction, Elise encounters herself in different versions. The characters around her – her mother, the sly singing teacher, the rocker Joakim and the destructive figure "D" – help shape her fate. This opened up many exciting musical approaches, says Sørbø.
She has been concerned with creating a musical interpretation that enhances the darkness of the story. Certain phrases from the book became central to her compositional approach:
– I became fixated on lines like “Light body and eternal dark mind” and “Die young; become a beautiful skeleton”. These inspired both the music and the dramaturgy, she says.
Sørbø has been keen to supplement the classic with less expected expressions. In Heroine Chic The sinfonietta ensemble has been joined by a cimbalom, a traditional Romanian instrument, which she believes gives the opera a distinctive sound.
– All instruments have their own sounds that invite and inspire, I find that exciting. The cimbalom is both soft and skeletal, icy penetrating and dramatic in its deep register. It fit perfectly into this universe, she says.
Sørbø has had a number of important collaborators and supporters in the process. She has received a TONO grant, sought advice from mentors through NOPA and NKF, collaborated with conductor Hans Petter Mæhle and, not least, with the author herself, Maria Kjos Fonn.
– I have interpreted the story in my own way, developed things further, distorted and introduced my own thoughts. Maria has given me a lot of freedom, which has been incredibly inspiring and stimulating! Everything affects everything, and I hope the whole that has gradually fallen into place is convincing for the audience, she says.
The opera premiered on February 25th during the Classix festival in Romania, and it seems that the audience has been convinced.
– It was a success. I received overwhelming feedback from the audience, musicians and press. I don't write to please, but I'm very happy when it does. There is hardly a greater compliment than that musicians want to play my music, says an overwhelmed Sørbø.
The premiere was a concert version with some visual elements. Sørbø now hopes for a full stage production in the future.
– I've already thought a lot about the visuals, and I hope we can make them come true. The most important thing for me is that the music touches the audience on some level, she concludes.
